Beware the Left Eye
by Wild Goose 01
Summary: A sidestory to Solid Shark's Cry of the Falcon. Section Nine is more than just Ken DiFalco, the Odin's crew and True ZAFT's remnant: among them is the Natural sniper Saito. This is Section Nine, through his left eye. SEED AU, CotF compliant. COMPLETE.
1. Dividual 1:POKER FACE

**Beware the Left Eye**

**Dividual 1/POKER FACE  
**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **All references to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex belong to Masamune Shirow and Production I.G. Ken DiFalco and Tom Delaney are the creations of Solid Shark, used with his kind permission. The Equatorial Union Civil War is the setting of Ominae's fanfic "Rebellion", and is used with permission. All _Minerva_ crew are property of Sunrise. This is a non-profit facfiction and sidestory based on Solid Shark's "Cry of the Falcon".

* * *

It was a small group who met around the table to play poker; a mix of _Minerva _crew, Section Nine pilots and ground force personnel in between shifts. A TV set blared in a corner of the lounge: _"The Chief Representative has just welcomed Foreign Minister Ramos of the Equatorial Union to Orb with a warm handshake; since the revolution that overthrew the Chua regime, the post-revolution government has been reaching out diplomatically in an attempt to distance itself from the Chua regime's policies and to enhance its standing and legitimacy among the surrounding nations."_

"_Yuki, how successful does this diplomatic initiative appear to be?"_

"_I'd say that it's been moderately successful. This evening's meeting with the Chief Representative and the joint military exercises between both nations are ample proof that in Orb, at any rate, the current policy of government of the people, for the people, and by the people, strikes a chord between both nations; among the items Minister Ramos will be discussing with the Orb government is a mutual defense pact between Orb and the Equatorial Union. Sources close to the negotiations say that there is a strong possibility of the ratification of this proposed pact, but with Prime Minister Seiran's pro-Earth Alliance stance, and considering the Equatorial Union's revolution against the pro-Earth Alliance Chua regime, denounced by the Seiran government as the overthrowing of legitimate authority, obstacles remain in the way. With the events of Break the World two weeks ago, the geopolitical situation remains unstable, though the Equatorial Union has gained goodwill amongst Earth Alliance nations by its quick disaster response efforts-"_

"Turn that damned thing off," grumbled an annoyed Bart Heim, _Minerva_'s sensor operator, glaring at his cards. "Even if you're just kids on a break, you shouldn't watch that crap!"

"Don't take it out on them just because you're losing," murmured Azuma, wearing the slate gray coverall fatigues common to all the Section Nine personnel seated around the table, as Lieutenant Castille dealt the cards to each man around the table: _Minerva's _CIC officer Chen Zhen Yee, helmsman Malik Yardbirds, Rey Za Burrel and sensor operator Bart Heim; Section Nine's Azuma, of the ground forces, Jack David, one of the Greenland raid Murasame pilots, and a quiet man with his left eye covered by a plastic eyepatch, known only as Saito.

"Hey, look who's talking," retorted Bart, pointing meaningfully at Azuma's woefully diminished pile, smirking as he caught sight of his first card, the Ace of Diamonds. "This time, it's all on me."

"I don't think so," said Saito calmly, gazing at his cards, taking a pull on his cancer stick, before pushing 100,000 in chips forward. Bart's reaction was to narrow his eyes and glare at the observing rookies. "Why haven't you kids turned that crap off yet? This is a serious game! Give us some quiet!" he growled, picking up another card. _Good, Ace of hearts. I've got two Aces. Saito is going down._

"Don't take it out on others just because you're losing."

"I'll turn the tables on you, Saito, damnit," replied Bart, and another of the Section Nine pilots snorted in derision.

"You can _try_," said Jack David dryly. "We've been trying to best Saito for almost _two years_; what makes you think you can beat him on your what, fourth _game_?"

"Ah, who cares! He's goin' down. Hey rookies! Quit watching that crap! I'll raise."

"I'll raise too," murmured Saito, picking up the 4 of Diamonds, slotting it next to his Jack of Hearts. "If you have enough concentration, you can ignore the crap the rookies are watching."

Meyrin Hawke shrugged and turned her eyes back to the poker game, lowering the volume. "Well, what else is there to do, besides watching this poker game? Mr. Saito's always winning."

"That's bugged me for a while," admitted Lunamaria. "I mean, in poker, it's basically about predicting the cards, right? It's a game of chance, so why is the same man winning all the time?"

"It's especially strange when you consider that under the rules of this game, all you need to do is to memorize everyone's cards," said Meyrin, gazing at men around the table thoughtfully, "and predict their hand from their first and last cards. There's no reason Mr. Saito should be winning every time, yet he takes all the chips in the end..."

"When you play poker, you don't play your cards, you play the man in front of you," said Castille suavely. "That's how you play poker."

"He's just good at bluffing," growled Bart. "I'll tear down that front of yours soon enough."

"Yeah, this is what they call a poker face," interjected Azuma, pointing at Saito. "Remember that. An expressionless face that hides your emotions and intentions."

"You guys can't do it. Compared to the game of life and death, poker is child's play."

"I'll admit that you're apparently a top-notch sniper," said Bart, recalling the impromptu shooting contest a few days before: on the known distance range, Saito had singlehandedly outshot _Minerva_'s MS team at short, medium and long range... all this despite having only one eye and being a Natural. It was causing no small amount of consternation to the more extreme members of _Minerva_'s crew, who believed in the superiority of Coordinators (and less ideologically, to those crewmen who had been conned by Lieutenants David and Snow into betting against Saito). "Still, your comparison of sniping to poker won't hold water."

"I was once in a one-on-one sniping duel with someone who had me scared shitless," continued Saito, cool and expressionless as ever. "I'd never feared a battle of wits as much as I did in that match." Intense stares were directed to him, everyone unconsciously leaning closer to the one-eyed sniper. "Ever since that match, I've been able to predict the thoughts of most people with a single glance."

"Saito, I find that hard to believe," said Azuma dubiously; then again, he hadn't been in a position to observe Saito in his element during the Greenland raid.

"Who was your opponent?' asked Lunamaria curiously; her interest peaked. She remembered how Saito had effortlessly outshot herself and her teammates; someone who had scared him shitless must have been exceptional.

"You want me to tell the story?" asked Saito, fingering a chip and looking at his cards, before taking a pile of chips and pushing them forward. "I'll talk if everyone calls me."

That got their attention. Bart narrowed his eyes and pushed his pile to the center of the table. "It isn't like I want to hear your story. Don't get me wrong," he warned.

The players pushed their chips toward the center of the table, and Saito took a drag of his cigarette before beginning his story, his gaze far off into the past. "It was around 2 years ago when this happened," he said. "I was sick of Japan, which was enjoying a nihilistic isolationist existence, and caught word of the civil war in the Equatorial Union. You know how the revolutionaries had their Foreign Legion-esque volunteer corps, well the loyalists had their own mercenaries; I joined Red Bianco, a mercenary corps supporting the Chua government. At that time, my left eye was still safe and sound in its socket..."

* * *

_Oil in the Middle East; drugs in South America, uprising against oppression in the Equatorial Union: conflict is a given in areas where a vested interest exists. Blue Cosmos, weakened by the recently concluded war and Murata Azrael's indiscriminate nuclear bombardment of Orb, was keen to increase their influence in the world. Under the pretense of mutual defense pacts and a security treaty, not unlike the current treaty the Seiran government supports, Blue Cosmos incited the Atlantic Federation and OMNI to effectively take control of the Equatorial Union, changing the status quo from protectorate to outright occupation. That set the stage for the revolution led by Jack Bauer and Richard Chung; bit by bit, the EURM revolutionaries gained ground faster than OMNI could reinforce their garrisons, aided in no small part by the presence of the foreign volunteers - among them notables such as Morgan Chevalier, Sophia DiFalco, and the Grimaldi Falcon himself. The EURM suffered setbacks but kept on advancing steadily, using mobile suits and mechanized infantry to sweep out OMNI and EU troops loyal to Chua._

_All my comrades had been eliminated by mechanized troops quickly enough; judging that it was time to call it quits, I was waiting for a good opportunity to surrender. I would have kept to that plan, but it was at that moment that a terminal monitoring enemy communications reported an enemy spec ops team in possession of a tactical nuclear device. Not having made much of an impact up to that point, I decided I should work for my pay, and the thrill of the hunt._

_I fully intended to rain terror down on those bastards from God's own vantage point, since they had shown they had the gall to bring a nuclear device into play._

* * *

"Waitaminute," began Lunamaria, glaring. "The Equatorial Union revolutionaries didn't use nuclear weapons! They didn't have nukes! No nukes were used during the civil war!" 

Saito merely gave her another expressionless look; Bart scowled and Jack twitched. "Could you please just hold your tongue? Who's tellin' the story, you or Saito? Now STFU, I wanna hear the story!"

"That's why you'll never have a poker face, Jack," murmured Saito.

"I'm an ex-Orb Navy fighter jock, I don't _need _a poker face. Story, damnit!"

* * *

Rain falls down as the sky turns gray, while combat boots thud on the ground, fatigue-clad troops moving through the suburb. Rifles held at the ready, the 8-man squad moves in single file; the lead five in the jungle camouflage of the EURM, the other three dressed in urban gray fatigues and black body armor, the leader of the three pausing for a moment, his eyes scanning left and right, falcon like, hands gripping his antique PSG-1 sniper rifle carefully, katana sheathed by his side. 

"Something the matter, Boss?" asks the 2nd gray-clad figure, the long antenna of a backpack radio poking out behind his left shoulder.

"No, it's nothing," says Ken DiFalco, the man known and feared as the Grimaldi Falcon, the mysterious Major of Section Nine, pushing back up the tinted wraparound sunglasses he wears, taking a look at the abandoned church and hospital to the west, before picking up the pace.

The team moves through, towards a town square; as the hands on his Rolex watch move closer and closer to 5.00 p.m., synchronized with the clock tower in the town square, Saito makes his move with 15 seconds to the hour. "Bit start," he announces, pulling the bolt back on his SR90 sniper rifle and chambering a round, sighting on the 2nd man in the squad, the man carrying a large black and yellow case. He marks his target and lies in wait, and prepares himself for what is about to happen.

The clock tower gongs sound as the clock strikes 5.00 p.m., startling the squad, who momentarily pause, eyes darting left and right. They've stopped moving, and are right where Saito wants them to be, as he counts the gongs of the clock tower and times his shot: "Three. Four. Five." Squeeze.

The SR90 rifle barks and sends forth its emissary, the round traveling at supersonic velocity, entering the gut and exiting below the hip; the EURM Special Naval Brigade commando falls to the ground like a sack of meat. His death awaits him, a slow painful end. If the medic gets to him now, he'll survive, but his comrades are holding the medic back. This is the oldest trick in the sniper's book: wounding one soldier, and picking off the rest of his fellows as they try to aid him. And medics are prime targets for snipers.

"Sniper! Keep down!" barks the Major, regardless of the fact that he isn't in command of this squad. "Tom," he says, turning to the Section Nine operative behind him, "assume that the sniper is using a satellite feed. Hack the sat and triangulate his position."

"Understood, Major," replies Tom Delany, as he removes their helmet; from his rucksack, Tom pulls out a handheld computer, plugs it into the radio transmitter, and begins typing, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "He isn't using a sat feed. A long range jammer is active within a one kilometer radius of us."

"Determine the sniper's position by tracing the jammer's transmission point."

"Already on it, Boss."

"You guys are efficient," remarks the third Section Nine operative, a rookie. "Are you guys pros?"

"If you have time to chit-chat, scout for enemies," orders Ken. "We screwed up."

"We have to treat him quickly," pleads the medic, watching red blood stain the ground. "Corporal Mather! Hang in there! Sir, we need to get him!"

"Alright," the EURM team leader nods to the medic. "Ginger, get Mather out of there. We'll cover you. Singh, help Ginger!"

"Racist bastard," mutters Singh, glowering at the Filipino team leader, who ignores him and looks at the gray-clad operatives.

"You Coordinators! Target the west buildings! Everybody else, target the east buildings. Let's go!"

6 rifles begin firing, a mix of full auto and controlled burst, as Ginger runs to Mather and quickly patches him up, Singh covering him. "Can you make it?"

"You'll be fine, Corporal, hang in there! Okay, let's go!" calls Ginger, picking up Mather, ready to drag him to safety... before Saito shoots him in the neck. Singh watches with wide eyes as Ginger's lifeless body falls to the ground, and curses as he turns and fires to the west. "The sniper's in the west! _Shoot the west buildings!"_

* * *

_It didn't take long for them to start shooting westwards. None of those rounds hit me, though one did come pretty close, missing my head by an inch. Then again, when you're dealing with a sniper, an inch is as good as a mile._

_I'd have to make them wonder for a while more where I was, so I reached down, paused the jamming, and prepared a surprise for them. _"Crap in your pants."

_Before I'd taken up my position in the hospital, I'd set up an anti-material rifle to the east, replacing the scope with a camera, aiming it at an abandoned car I'd seen. With the jamming killed, I pressed a key and sent the activation code. It worked like a charm. The remote-controlled rifle I'd rigged fired like a charm, and the force of the round sent the car end over end._

_That got their attention._

_The leader called for a cease-fire and began firing to the east, but then the leader of the gray-clad commandos began arguing at him. Curious, I looked through my scope, and took in his features. He looked... ordinary. Nothing really special, at first glance. Just a brown-haired young man._

_I underestimated him to my peril._

* * *

"Check fire! _Check fire!_ The sniper is in the west!" yelled the Major, taking off his helmet, his enhanced eyes scanning the area. 

"What the hell was that then?" yelled the EURM spec ops leader. "Didn't you see that car get blown up? That was at least a 20mm round! The sniper's in the east! No, more than likely, we're surrounded!"

"Tom, did you triangulate the jamming source?

"Rough estimates only Boss, but I have three spots. One's in an east building. The other two are the church and the hospital."

"Do you think the east building position is a decoy?"

"Probably. The jamming disappeared a split second before the 20mm fired. Besides, it's basic strategy to place the sun at your back."

Ken nodded and turned to the team leader. "That shot from the east is most likely a decoy; the sniper is in the west. We've been engaged from only two directions; if we were surrounded, we'd be taking more fire. There is only one sniper."

"How the hell can you be sure?"

"This is what the situation indicates. I will come to your side after passing through the east building. I'll signal you once I've confirmed the building is empty. Once I give the signal, everyone conduct suppression fire on the hospital and church. Use that opportunity to retrieve Corporal Mather and the tactical nuclear device. Without it, our mission is a failure."

"Alright, go with Singh," orders the leader; Singh merely scowls before running to follow Ken.

* * *

"Meeting up via a detour, eh?" mutters Saito, tracking the movements of the two commandos and noting their projected path. "They'll know soon enough that there's no one there. Before that happens, I'll take out someone else."

* * *

The rain slowly came to a stop, as the spec ops leader watched the church's bell tower carefully through his binoculars, and he started when he heard the 20mm rifle being dropped behind him; he whirled around to look at the crouching figure of Ken, who hadn't even broken into a sweat. 

"As I suspected, this was just a decoy. There was only one round in the magazine. This sniper is good," he said, noting the surprise on the leader's face. "He set an ambush for us and we walked into it. He's smart, but we have the numerical advantage."

"Alright, when I give the signal, concentrate all fire on the church. You go and grab Mather."

"How can you be sure he's in the church? He could be in the hospital. Even excluding the other buildings, because the jamming was cut and we can't confirm the position, we can't dismiss the hospital as a possible sniping point."

"Look at how far away the hospital is! He's in the church!"

"How can you be sure? This is a sniper who engages us while making sure that we can't use GPS or communications. If he's a veteran fighter skilled in the art of war, we'll all be killed."

"This is too complicated," grumbled the Section Nine rookie with ash blonde hair. "Who gives a damn which one it is?"

"Be patient," chided Tom. "Carefulness is the key to survival on the battlefield, not humor. Take a look at the Major. He's what you call a real pro."

Ken continued scanning the hospital with the binoculars he'd grabbed from the EURM team's leader, and he was the only person who didn't flinch or start when the crack of Saito's rifle echoed around, the bullet having killed the EURM commando who was about to fire a recoilless rifle into the hospital. The reactions of the men around the unlucky soldier were reactions of shock and anger, in complete contrast to his controlled tone.

"Got him." Ken's voice was firm and commanding, as he spotted Saito concealing himself. "The enemy's in the hospital! Tom!"

Needing no words, Falcon and his Demon ran to the courtyard as the rest of the team began firing; Tom raised his assault rifle and began firing bursts of suppression fire at the hospital, as Ken sprinted to the fallen Mather. His expression didn't change as he lifted the commando and saw that Mather was dead, and didn't let that stop him from doing his duty; he drew his katana and sliced through Mather's hand, slipping off the handcuffed tac-nuke case. Picking up the pod, he motioned towards Tom, and the latter nodded and continued covering both of them as they made their way back to cover.

"We were too late for the Corporal," said Ken quietly. "At any rate, we've recovered the pod."

"Alright, let's fall back for now. We can't all die here."

"You gotta be kidding! They killed Bakar! We gotta avenge him!"

"We need to retreat and regroup. That's an order!"

"In difficult ground, press on. In encircled ground, devise stratagems. In death ground, _fight_. Retreating is the wrong decision. No matter what we do, we'll have to deal with the sniper. We can't call for reinforcements since our comms are still out, and attempting to retreat will reduce our numerical superiority. By retreating, we miss the tide of battle. We press on."

"That's right, we still outnumber him. He shot our friends!" yelled Singh. "Are we just gonna let him get away with that?"

"Alright, let's do this." He swallows, and then slowly, reluctantly, asks Ken: "What do we do now, Major?"

* * *

_"When I saw them, I knew something was wrong. They didn't panic, they were regrouping: the sign of a good commanding officer. I realized that the final battle was drawing near. The tension shot up, and I could feel my adrenalin level rising on the cellular level. When you kill each other on the battlefield, you can't tell who killed whom. But there is one exception to this rule, and that is a sniper. The very act of sniping comes with a calling card. That's why snipers can't become POWs. As the hated enemy who killed their buddies and commanding officers, snipers are fated to be killed on the spot."_

* * *

The depleted group moves closer to the hospital, leapfrogging through what little cover there is, approaching the hospital, getting closer and closer to where Saito is holed up. The EURM team leader has taken point, and moves ahead, tacnuke slung across his back, poking his head up from a piece broken wall, looking back at Tom, who has appropriated the recoilless rifle. "Once you fire a recoilless round in there, pump the place full of smoke grenades! We'll storm the hospital under the cover of the smoke! Alri-" He raises his head some more and is about to move, when Saito shoots him in the neck, and he falls back, dead. 

"Damn bastard!" snarls the Section Nine rookie, firing his light machine gun at the hospital, while Tom raises the recoilless rifle and fires it at the hospital wall; the 84mm projectile spirals up and impacts into the hospital, sending shockwaves and dust falling throughout the ruined building. All remaining commandos fire smoke grenades from their grenade launchers, following up with suppression fire, watching as the smoke billows up and about, and as soon as the smoke spreads out far enough, Ken dashes forward, Singh right behind him. "Singh and I will storm the hospital. Cover me!"

"Damn, why do I have to be backup?" mutters Batou in disgust.

"Congratulations," says Tom. "You've earned the Boss' trust."

It was a race against time and death. The white smoke would hide Ken and Singh from Saito's rifle: no sniper could hit at what he couldn't see. But they had to get to the smoke to be safe, and no human had ever moved faster than a rifle round…

Until now.

Saito raised his rifle and sighted through the scope, and felt a flicker of surprise as Ken dashed through his sights, faster than he'd expected, even while wearing body armor and combat gear. Saito didn't waste any time on speculation, immediately switching to his alternate target and squeezing the trigger. His shot was true, and Singh fell limply to the floor. Batou's response was to return fire with his LMG, but he only managed a single burst before it jammed.

"That's enough," said Tom quietly. "Leave it to the Boss. He'll take care of everything."

"The Boss? What's up with him, being called Boss and shit? Who the hell is he?"

Tom's reply was a small, enigmatic smile. "He's a genius of combat, a master of the blade and himself. He won't lose."

* * *

Ken's footsteps echoed through the ruined hospital as he ran up the stairs to the top floor, pausing at the end of the stairwell. Using a mirror he peered around the corner, making a quick scan of the top floor, nothing the missing ceiling, puddles of water, cracks in the floor, and the jamming device set in a far corner, hidden in shadows. Across the floor, crouched up against a pillar, Saito loaded a fresh magazine into his SR90 and pulled the bolt back. 

Pulling a thin wire from the PSG-1's scope, Ken attached it to his wraparound shades and pressed a button on his belt, and quickly calibrated the holographic HUD projected into his wraparound tinted glasses, synchronizing the rifle and targeting pipper, ignoring the draining water that ran down his hair into his eyes. He flipped the safety off, took a calming breath, and moved.

His speed took Saito by surprise, moving faster than any Natural could hope to move. Seeing that speed through a scope was one thing; seeing it in front of you was another. In one swift deadly movement, Ken moved out from cover and fired three quick rounds into the exposed jamming device, destroying it. Saito whirled to the side, stepping out of cover, rifle raised to aim at Ken's unprotected head…

And then his eyes widened and he pivoted back behind the pillar, his breathing ragged and unsteady, sweat trickling down his shocked face

* * *

"Upon confronting the Major, in that moment that was less than a second, I imagined the conclusion and felt a chill of fear. It was a conclusion my experience as a sniper arrived at after considering all possible variables and conclusions: _'I will be killed.' _ From his stance, the way he held his rifle at his waist, how he was totally still, I immediately understood that he was a Coordinator. I could see the glow of the heads-up display in his glasses, and knew that he was wearing a Land Warrior setup. In addition, his rifle was semi-automatic with a computerized full-sensing scope. He would then of course have targeting control software for long, medium and close range installed. 

"I tried firing a shot at the Major in my imagination," continued Saito, his poker face as secure as when the game had started. "The Major will shoot down my first shot; I, with my bolt-action rifle, will get hit by his second shot while trying to re-conceal myself behind the pillar. No matter how many times I ran the simulation, it was the same result."

"But you couldn't have let the situation continue!" blurted out Meyrin, leaning forward, and Saito nodded to her.

"Yeah. If I had let the situation continue, I would have been killed anyway. I desperately tried to think of how I could turn the tables. Then I noticed something. It was the jamming device the Major had shot. Why did the major destroy this first, even using three shots to do it? _'Wait, could it be that he doesn't have medium-range targeting software installed? Yes, that must be it. Even though he's a sniper, he had his rifle use a shorter barrel. That's because he has decided to use the rifle act as a submachine gun at medium range. If so, to snipe me at this medium range, he needs the targeting software. Is he in the middle of downloading the targeting software from the satellite?'_ "

* * *

"_Let it be in time!" urges Saito, as he leans around the pillar and fires. The round travels at supersonic velocity, more than three times the speed of sound. The Major's reaction is to fire a single round from his PSG-1, and move imperceptibly to the side; both boat-tailed rounds cross their flight paths and speed toward their targets: Saito's round grazes the side of Ken's HUD shades; Ken's round travels through Saito's scope, exiting in a shower of glass that is driven into his left eye. He falls to the pillar, hand covering his eye, as Ken dashes forward._

_The wounded sniper pulls out his pistol with his left hand and tries to fire, but Ken is too fast; a quick chop to Saito's left hand causes him to drop his pistol, and Ken grabs the hand and slams it up against the wall, nailing it there with a combat knife, and Saito hisses in pain._

"_You have good skills. I want you to join my command."_

_Saito looks up at him in disbelief. "From the very beginning, you-" and then his voice trails off, before closing his eyes and exhaling deeply._

_"__Lesson Eighteen: If the beast cannot be slain, tame it, and set it against your other enemies." The small curving of Ken's lips could almost have been a smile. "Lesson Thirty-eight: Only seldom is true surprise achieved in battle; usually, it is simply that the commander misinterprets what he's seen all along.__"_

* * *

"Yes, I was deceived by the Major's poker face from the very beginning. I had no right to refuse; that was his first order to me, afterall." He gazed at the faces around the table, at Lunamaria and Meyrin who were sitting on the edge of their seats, and nodded to Castille. "Deal me my last card." 

"That was an interesting story," said Bart, picking up his card, his expression changing to a fierce smirk. "But it has nothing to do with this game. I'm all in!" he added, looking at the two Kings and four Aces he held in his hand.

"I'll call," murmured Saito coolly. _Ten, Jack, Queen, and King of Spades._

"Don't play tough. This time, you can't bluff your way through," replied Bart eagerly. "You're going for a Royal Flush of Spades, aren't you? But you've got rags! I know, because I have the Ace of Spades," he gloated, tossing down his cards on the table. "You have no chance of winning. And besides, that story just now was a lie, wasn't it? It was an interesting story, but there was an old movie that had a similar plot."

"Yeah, that's right," agreed Saito amiably, shuffling his cards. "I made it all up."

"Really?!" gasped Meyrin. "Say it isn't so!"

Saito merely closed his eye and stood up, folding his cards face down on the table, walking to where a bulky keypad-locked rifle case was placed at the foot of the table. "I'll let you guys go for today. Castille, cash me out, okay?"

"Heh," smirked Bart unpleasantly. "Got embarrassed, eh? Hey, rookie, I want it all in advance."

"You're a really demanding guy," muttered Azuma sourly, turning to his chips.

"I wonder if Mr. Saito really had rags," mused Meyrin, walking to the table and picking up the cards, and then she gasped in excitement. "Look, look! Is this good?"

"Bloody hell. Straight Flush with a Nine of Spades. _Damn good_. He just beat everyone's hand," breathed Malik Yardbirds, awed, as Jack, Azuma and Castille shared a moment of mutual bemusement at the shock and awe among the _Minerva _crew, including a stunned and subdued Bart Heim.

"Then, that story just now…" her voice trailing off, Meyrin turned to look behind her as Saito walked out of the room.

"Could it be…"

* * *

_Dividual 1 FIN  
To be continued...  
_

* * *

**Notes: **Several notes that I'm putting in here, because there was no way I could put them in. Savvy GitS:SAC viewers will recognize where this fic came from, as well as the origins of the title. First off, the full-sensing scope that Ken used. In the GitS movie and manga, as well as where Kusanagi shows up with a WA2000, Section 6 uses sniper rifles equipped with full-sensing scopes: these are computerized scopes that can be used with the naked eye and plugged into a cyberbrain jack. Since Ken didn't have a cyberbrain, I improvised a replacement. I'm showing Ken here as a sniper; Solid's done an excellent job of showing Ken DiFalco, swordsman, so it's my turn to attempt Ken DiFalco, sniper. 

The Land Warrior rig that Ken was wearing and which I didn't elaborate on is based off the US Army's Land Warrior program. Anyone who's played Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter will know what I'm talking about. Think the GRAW rig, but with the miniaturization and improvement that comes after about 100 years or so, give or take a few decades.

No, the PSG-1 cannot be used as an SMG. Saito's confused it with the G3 from which the PSG-1 was derived from.

The tacnuke was an OMNI tacnuke being recovered for use as proof of OMNI's evil. Remember, Saito is on the side of the bad guys during the EU Civil War; for more details on the Civil War, read Rebellion. It's in my favorites, along with Solid's.

And thus ends my first foray into the world of Gundam SEED (laughs). I'd like to thank Solid and Ominae for letting me play in their universes, and for creating such worlds in the first place, as well as Cry of the Falcon, Solid's retelling of Destiny. (Which I think is better than Destiny canon, but hell, almost anything is better than canon Destiny.) And yes, there will be a sequel to Poker Face… and it'll be a lot more involved with Cry of the Falcon that this one is.

This is Goose, signing off. (Ignore the 01 at the end of my name. I prefer Goose.)


	2. Dividual 2:SNIPER ALLEY

**Beware the Left Eye**

**Dividual 2/SNIPER ALLEY**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Again, all referances to GitS:SAC are the property of Masamune Shirow and Production I.G. Ken DiFalco and Tom Delaney are creations of Solid Shark, used with permission. This is a non-profit fanfiction and sidestory to Solid Shark's _Cry of the Falcon_.

**Chronological Note:** The following chapter takes place simultaneously with Chapters 12 and 13 of _Cry of the Falcon.  
_

* * *

"_Operation Meteor would go down in history as the drop that very nearly turned into a disaster on the level of World War 2's Operation Market Garden, all due to the efforts of three ships, nine mobile suits, and their pilots. Had Section Nine been able to field more Fianna variable fighters, had Mwu la Flaga and Rau le Cruset managed to sortie in DRAGOON system-equipped mobile suits, had more Section Nine snipers deployed to the scene, Operation Meteor might well have failed._

"_While achieving their objectives of occupying Orb and reinforcing forces loyal to Unato Ema Seiran, _Dominion_'s forces and the detachment from the 1__st__ Orbital Drop Division and various special forces units failed to eliminate Kenneth DiFalco, _Minerva, Odin_, Section Nine, and the mysterious Major. Despite these failed objectives and the losses suffered, the result of Operation Meteor was a tactical victory for Logos… and a strategic defeat that contributed to Logos' total defeat, months later._

"_Today's lecture will focus on the actions of the Section Nine operative known as Saito, and will examine the role of sniper warfare in invasion defense…"_

_-Commander Marcus Snow, during a guest lecture to the Orb Naval Academy, June C.E. 88._

* * *

Orb Union, 1900 hours local time, 25th February, C.E. 74

* * *

Airborne operations are steeped in deep history. Since World War 2, airborne paratroopers have had an aura of mystique and skill, and a reputation for being elite units: it was no surprise that many members of the old US Army Special Forces, the famous Green Berets, were paratroopers, as were many members in the British Special Air Service. Airborne troops are the lightning blow, the quick stroke, the rapid deployment force that seizes ground and opens the way for follow-on forces to arrive. Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy, was a prime example of this. 

The bottomline was simple: for a fast, devastating strike that would catch the enemy off-guard, airborne insertions were the way to go. ZAFT had recognized this early on in the First Bloody Valentine War, deploying numerous mobile suits via orbital drop pods in their opening offensives, and in Operation Spit Break, the failed attempt to neutralize the Earth Alliance's JOSH-A headquarters in Alaska.

The Earth Alliance had returned the favor by launching Operation 8.8, the orbital drop that would be known as the Ayers Rock Landing Operation, the mission that opened the way for the capture of ZAFT's Carpentaria Base.

When the Earth Alliance commenced Operation 8.8, they were literally making up doctrine as they went along, a situation exacerbated by ZAFT's near-total space superiority; nobody had ever thought of using a mass driver to launch suits into orbit for a drop, a move which had taken Carpentaria by surprise. In the 2 years since then, their methodology and equipment had improved, and Operation Meteor was a far cry from Operation 8.8. Mobile suits from the 1st Orbital Drop Division were loaded into waiting drop pods from warships in orbit, and as they reached their drop zones, each ship disgorged her pods. As the pods entered the atmosphere they broke apart, deploying their contents: Jet Striker Windams and Dagger Ls for air cover, Launcher Dagger Ls for fire support, Duel and Buster Daggers – the sky was filled with Windams and Dagger variants…

And then, in many flashes of green light, their numbers fell.

* * *

Hidden atop a mountain, a dark shape knelt, its shape broken up by the mountain camouflage pattern it sported. That flash of light had come from the beam rifle it held in its hands, a beam rifle like no other. Except for the M1A Astray Space Type's Type 71-44 beam sniper rifle, no other beam rifle in existence had a range of 30 kilometers, or the accuracy required for such precise targeting, picking out mobile suits from abandoned drop pods and the ghost images projected by electronic warfare systems. 

But then, the Caladbolg beam smartrifle was no other rifle. It was a weapon designed to give the TRVF-51A Fianna an unparalleled sniping ability. In the hands of an ordinary pilot, the beam smartrifle would have been a wasted weapon – it takes more than a long-range rifle to make a sniper, a fact not quite grasped by the Sahaku forces using M1A Astrays. But in the hands of Saito, the beam smartrifle was the perfect complement to his combat style. Few mobile suit pilots were truly snipers, even if they employed long-range weapons. As a result, the Earth Alliance and ZAFT hadn't bothered with dedicated sniping mobile suits; the chances of a mobile suit pilot possessing the right skills and mindset for sniping was astronomically low: no surprise, given the fundamental differences between the fighter jock mentality cultivated in mobile suit pilots, and the cold precision of a sniper.

The Major had immediately seen where he could take advantage of this blind spot, and had ordered Section 9 engineers to begin work on the beam smartrifle prototypes, intended to surpass the Type-71-44 beam sniper rifles of the space-adapted M1A Astray. What they had created was a weapon capable of accurate, rapid supporting fire from long range: thirty kilometers at low power at in atmosphere. While that wasn't a big deal compared to guided missiles, thirty kilometers was far beyond the range of most mobile suit weapons. But no one had ever employed such weapons on the battlefield, and while technically beam cannons could reach in excess of two _hundred_ kilometers, they hadn't really been blessed with great accuracy at long range. Packing that kind of firepower and range into a rifle was unheard of.

Which is why the Earth Forces were completely taken by surprise as the first eight combat air patrol Windams were annihilated in streaks of green fire.

* * *

It was a transmission remarkable in its simplicity and brevity. Merely three words, seemingly innocuous, repeated twice. 

Yet on hearing those words, Tom Delaney's blood rang cold, as the telemetry links from a lone Section Nine mobile suit were shut off and as _Odin_'s sensors began to pick up the multiple heat signatures of drop pods making reentry.

Yet he didn't let the shock paralyze him, and immediately began to raise the Major, intent on passing on Saito's message.

* * *

Inside the cockpit of the mountain-camouflaged TRVF-X51A Fianna Sniper, Saito nodded in grim satisfaction, aligned his rifle, and prepared to fire again. His helmet visor was raised, and the black plastic eyepatch that covered his left eye had been raised as well, revealing the cybernetic implant that replaced the eye he'd lost to the Major two years ago, during the sniper duel that had ended with his recruitment into Section Nine, the implant glowing with an electric green glow as it continued its work. 

The cybernetic eye that replaced Saito's natural eye was a Hawkeye, an experimental implant that was essentially a sniping scope shrunk into an eye-sized device connected to his brain. Very similar to the full-sensing scope that Ken DiFalco had used with great effectiveness in the Equatorial Union Civil War (as Saito could attest from _personal_ experience), Saito's Hawkeye could do night vision, trajectory projection, and of course, long-range zoom. But that wasn't all it could do. Using a jamming-proof quantum communications link, Saito's Hawkeye could interface with both Orb surveillance satellites and the Preybird's power/recon satellites, downloading targeting and positional data for each shot.

With the Hawkeye activated, Saito's already phenomenal sniping ability became godlike.

It could hardly be said, however, that the Earth Forces pilots were total idiots. Four Jet Striker Dagger Ls tasked with Close Air Support swooped down, intent on delivering death from above with their Drache air-to-ground missiles. These missiles were the present evolution of the 20th century Maverick missile, using electro-optical guidance, homing in on the image seen by their electronic brains: salvos of missiles are fired and the Dagger Ls continue on… and a hail of accurate beam fire drives into them. Ignoring the missiles coming at him, Saito continues sniping at the Jet Striker-equipped Dagger Ls, taking out all four Dagger Ls in as many seconds, silently thanking his lucky stars that the orbital drop is so far small and manageable, and not one massed wave. Not yet, anyway.

He's well aware that the mobile suits he's effortlessly sweeping from the skies are merely the pathfinders for the main force.

16 missiles are coming very close to him now, and it's time to take action. He doesn't bother with shooting the missiles; his Fianna gets up and runs forward, taking a flying leap off the mountain, rapidly transforming mid-leap into its Fighter mode. Air-breathing turbines spin to life, Saito shoves the throttle forward and pushes the stick down, and his Fianna dives down the side of the mountain, easily avoiding the missiles that had been aimed in his general direction. The Fianna speeds into the treeline, and Saito transforms back into mobile suit mode, sniper rifle pointed at the heavens, and he inputs a quick command sequence. The Variable Phase-Shift armor powers down for a moment, the Fianna's colors reverting to gunmetal gray, and then the VPS powers up again, this time in a forest camouflage scheme dialed in for Orb's forests.

Saito was a believer in being prepared. Other mobile suit pilots would look for anything using Mirage Colloid… and totally discount the value of a camouflage pattern scheme. It's something that Saito has learned in his experience as a sniper, crawling in desert, in forest, and in urban environments. Concealment is vital part of any sniper's bag of tricks, and effective camouflage adds to that concealment. No one can hit what they can't see, no matter how much they shoot.

Saito One, Earth Forces Zero. The pathfinders are down, but now the first wave of drop pods is descending into orbit, and Saito readies his rifle, aims, and squeezes the trigger. The green beam lances out into a 4-suit drop pod, with enough power to pierce through and carry on into another pod in the line of fire. The tacnet fills with the sound of panic and terror.

Yet there are pods that descend faster, single-suit pods dropping faster than their larger bretheren, pods that break away at low altitude to reveal units using parachutes and thrusters to slow their fall, mobile suits painted in the colors of special forces units, not the standard colors of the Earth Forces: the black Slaughter Daggers of Phantom Pain, the urban camouflage of the Atlantic Federation's Armor Tactics Research Corps Durandal, and the white with black trim of the Eurasian Federation's Blauer Neubel. All elite units, all more than capable of giving Saito a run for his money.

Despite their rapid HALO insertion and the ECM and decoys their spec ops pods put out, Saito maintains his lock on the special forces suits and fires with cold, deadly precision. Normal targeting systems would have gone haywire by now, but his Hawkeye and the smartrifle's sensor pod help him to visually target the approaching spec ops suits, and one by one they explode, destroyed by accurate sniper fire. The units mounting Launcher packs attempt to return fire, but Saito's rifle fires faster than an Agni hyper impulse cannon can charge, and he takes them out before they can get a shot off. One pilot's Agni almost fires, but a beam passes through his cannon and into his cockpit. If he wasn't dead from Saito's shot, the explosion from his destabilized Agni cannon finishes the job. Switching back to his mountain camo, Saito boosts up towards his 2nd mountaintop sniping point, beam smartrifle seeking targets. He's running on EMCON, emissions control: minimum transmissions, radio set to receive only. The only transmission he's made has been when he spotted the drop, coming in down almost on top of him, a coded burst sent out with his first shot: _"Bounty Four-One, Bounty Four-One_._"_

_I doubt even the Major anticipated this drop_, he thinks, caressing the trigger, sending another pulse of coherent light to meet his target. _Of course, neither did any of us._

Drop pods are falling all around him, faster and faster, a rising wave of single- and four-suit pods, and then shafts of white light appear, spearing down to the earth: inbound Kinetic Interdiction Strikes fired by _Dominion _and her escorts.

* * *

_"The journey beings, starts from within, things that I need to know…"_

Major Mary E. McGlynn checked her drop pod seals, ran through her Windam's predrop checklist one last time, adjusted her helmet and restraint straps, gripped her controls and inhaled deeply, singing softly to calm her nerves.

During the First Bloody Valentine War, she'd been an Earthside mobile suit pilot who'd been one of the very first Earth Forces pilots to take part in an orbital drop, _the_ orbital drop: Operation 8.8, the Ayers Rock Landing Operation. All the while it had happened, she'd been convinced she was going to die as her Strike Dagger fell from the sky into Ayers Rock; but she'd managed to survive Operation 8.8 and the assault and capture of Carpentaria. Which was why when the OPLAN for Operation Meteor had been put together, she'd been reassigned to the newly formed 1st Orbital Drop Division: she was, afterall, a veteran of the Ayers Rock Landing Operation, and the Earth Alliance needed experienced drop veterans to form the core of the 1st Orbital Drop Division.

_And now I'm about to add the Orb Landing Operation to my resume, if the historians ever get around to naming this mission,_ she thought. "All units, final check. Report."

_"Ishikawa, go,"_ reported her communications specialist.

"_Epcar, standin' by."_

"_Freeman, ready,"_ reports the last member of her team, and she smiles and nods, sparing a brief moment of pleasure at the simple fact that after BVWI and two years, her team is still together. They'll be riding their mobile suits down in a 4-suit drop pod together, the way they've always acted: 4 limbs of the same body, four fingers of the same hand.

The chronometer counts down to zero and she feels a jerk as the drop pod separates and plummets down. The temperature in her cockpit rises slightly, but is nothing beyond the capacity of the cooling systems to dissipate; reentry with an orbital drop pod is much safer and less hairy compared to descending as-is, praying that you won't burn up in atmosphere or that your parachute will remain intact.

_Focus. Control. Conviction. Resolve. A true ace lacks none of these attributes. Nothing can deter you from the task at hand except your own fears. This is your sky._

The pod hurtles down, passing the stratosphere into the atmosphere, passing 10,000 feet before separating. Explosive bolts blow the pod apart at the seams and the Windam and three Dagger Ls are flung out from the pod, falling another 1500 feet before their parachutes deploy, and their descent is slowed by thrusters, as the spears of white light rain down on the earth.

_A kinetic strike? What the hell is the brass-_

And then from the mountaintop a shaft of green light lances out, a coherent blade of frozen fire, sweeping across the kinetic strikes and pods entering atmosphere, and McGlynn's face blanches as her eyes narrow.

"_What the hell was that? That's a beam weapon, but no beam weapon has that ungodly range!"_

"Well, we've just seen the first thirty kilometer beam saber, boys," she replies calmly, controlling her shock and surprise. "Orb has always had nasty surprises hidden up their sleeves. Ishikawa, we're looking at some sort of long range beam cannon. Assume they're using a sat feed. Hack the sat and triangulate their position, then send it upstairs toCommand. Epcar, Freeman, get ready: we're going in after them."

"_Copy, Major." "You're the Boss." "I'm on it."_

* * *

The green beam cuts across the sky like the searchlights of World War 2, a fast-moving shaft of light destroying everything in its path, annihilating KIS penetrators and tearing through the occasional mobile suit. It would have been an impossible task, even for a warship-grade beam cannon, for there was a limit to how fast the mobile suit's arms could move the beam smartrifle and how long the beam could be sustained. 

Fortunately for Saito, he didn't need to move his arms that much, and the smartrifle drew its power directly from the nuclear reactor powering his Fianna Sniper.

Mounted in the muzzle of the beam smartrifle was a particle deflection system, capable of bending the beam smartrifle's output by up to 15 degrees in any direction. Saito had been delighted with it, since it allowed him to achieve the fine, precise, _godlike_ accuracy that he craved as a sniper, an accuracy which had been denied to him as a mobile suit pilot. Apart from the deflection system, it also had two firing modes: a default pulse-fire mode and a sustained-fire mode. While undergoing certification and workup on his Fianna, he'd come to appreciate the tactical flexibility the beam smartrifle afforded him; in many ways, it was the ultimate sniping rifle.

Still, it was slightly annoying that it had been Jack David, the definitive "happy warrior", humorist and resident compulsive gambler of Section Nine's mobile suit pilots, who'd suggested that Saito could use his weapon's sustained-fire mode (intended as a standoff antiship measure) as a giant beam saber to intercept kinetic strikes. And then he'd challenged Saito to a bet, which had resulted in _Asmodeus_ obligingly firing several kinetic penetrators at an asteroid, which were duly melted away by Saito's giant improvised beam saber.

What had _really_ annoyed Saito was the cocky grin on Jack's face as he said, _"Well, wasn't that easier just sweeping the sky instead of shooting inbound KIS rounds one by one?"_

Well, that and the fact that it hadn't really been Jack's idea, it had been Marcus Snow's idea, though Jack had been the one to go and sucker Saito (and as many people he could find) into betting on the outcome with him. (Though since that bet _had_ proven the concept, Snow wasn't too concerned about assigning credit. His cut of the betting proceeds might have helped in that regard.)

Saito was pragmatic enough to put aside his annoyance and accept that yes, a giant beam saber was very useful at sweeping the sky clear of enemies, especially a Kinetic Interdiction Strike barrage. But it still went against all his sniper instincts to project his position that way… and he was vulnerable while he waited for his rifle to cool off and recharge. A fact pointed out to him most unpleasantly, moments later, as the pods he'd ignored to focus on the kinetic strikes disgorged their contents: more mobile suits… including 8 Jet Striker Dagger Ls armed with Drache missiles.

_These guys are determined_, he thought sourly, watching _yet another_ barrage of air to ground missiles heading his way. His rifle still needed another 15 seconds to cool down, and he didn't dare risk moving it while in cooldown (it being a still-prototype weapon, and he didn't want it subjected to stresses beyond what it was intended for), so he did the next best thing: crouch down, activate his CIWS, track the incoming missiles, and open fire.

The MMI-GAU5 "Phalanx" 76mm CIWS mounted in the Fianna's head was basically identical in function and purpose to Close-In Weapons Systems throughout Earth and the PLANTs: a last-ditch weapon against incoming missiles and targets. Sharing its name with the very first CIWS ever deployed, a legacy of the fallen United States Navy, the Phalanx CIWS had two things going for it: First, at a caliber of 76mm, it was the largest caliber CIWS ever deployed onto a mobile suit. Second, and far more importantly: it used lasers instead of projectiles. Rapid-firing, accurate, _lasers_.

The Fianna's head turned to track and spit laserfire at the inbound missiles, instantly proving its effectiveness: the laser pulses travel at the speed of light, burning into the thin shells of the missiles and causing them to prematurely detonate. The CIWS thins out the missiles considerably, but there's still a good number of them headed for Saito. He checks his readouts and nods imperceptibly as the rifle has now cooled enough for him to move; feeding power to his thrusters and turbines, he waits for the right moment…

And for the second time that night, Saito's Fianna jumps off a mountain, twisting and turning though the air as the laser CIWS keeps on firing, stopping only as it enters the fighter-like mobile armor mode and pulls a Kulbit just before the missiles hit it; pulling away from the explosion and diving back into the forest.

A good sniper never stays in the same place for too long: it's the easiest way to get killed. It's something particularly apt in this age of beam rifles, where observant pilots can track where the shots came from. In this situation, a sniper's only option is to remain hidden.

You do that by getting the hell out of Dodge when the enemy's made your position.

* * *

"New orders, Major," said Ishikawa in his deep voice. "Command wants us to link up with the survivors of a spec ops team and take out that sniper; they've suffered casualties and need reinforcement. I'm sending you the coordinates." 

"Roger that. Team, we're moving in towards the nav marker and linking up with a spec ops team. Go with Formation B. McGlynn, out."

The four mobiles suits moved quickly yet cautiously through the forest, using a formation designed for careful pursuit. Epcar and Freeman went in first, moving forward 200 meters, beam rifles at the ready. Seeing nothing, Freeman's Dagger L raised its left forearm, hand peeking out from the forearm shield, making a signal, and McGlynn and Ishikawa move forward beyond him and Epcar.

Formation B is essentially the infantry tactic of leapfrogging adapted to mobile suits. It may not be that fast, but it's the best compromise between speed and protection for them to move through unknown territory.

McGlynn's team repeats the process till they arrive at a small clearing in the forest, the rendezvous point with the special forces survivors, two Wild Daggers in Phantom Pain colors and a trio of Dagger variants: a near-obselete Duel Dagger, a Dagger L with a beam rifle and a projectile-firing shotgun, and a 105 Dagger with twin shoulder-mounted 8-cell missile pods and a backpack with one large and several smaller antennas, reminiscent of infantry backpack radios. All three mobile suits were painted in the urban gray camouflage pattern known as "Urban 1", and all pilots were alert, their weapons out and ready. Painted on each unit's left shoulder was the unit patch, a white circle surrounding a gray cross, dove wings projecting above the cross, a pair of crossed rifles, olive leaves and a sword pointing up. At the top of the circle were stenciled "EA Armor Tactics Research Corps" and below, on a red ribbon, the word "Durandal".

"Members of the 1st Orbital Division, I presume?" asked the leader, the Duel Dagger's pilot, his British accent calm and unruffled.

"That's us," replied McGlynn, as her team spread out and behind her. "Major Mary McGlynn. And you are?"

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Zead Eglar, of the Durandal unit. It's a relief to see allied units have made it safely," began the Duel Dagger pilot, and blinked as several weapons were immediately trained on his team. "Did I say something wrong?"

"The _Durandal_ unit? What's your connection with that freak running the PLANTs?" hissed one of the Wild Dagger pilots, his beam rifle pointed squarely at Zead. "Talk fast, traitors!"

"What is ze meaning of zis?" demanded a French-accented voice, the Dagger L's pilot sounding angered, taking a step back and raising her mobile suit's hands to point both of her weapons at the Wild Daggers, her missile-armed companion standing back to back with her, rifle pointed at McGlynn's team. "How _dare_ you accuse us of being traitors!"

Eglar sighed, raising his Duel Dagger's empty hand in a placating gesture, as McGlynn snapped angrily: "Hold your fire! Put those weapons away before you get someone killed! I don't care if you're in Phantom Pain, put those weapons away _NOW!_"

"But they're-

"We're the EA Armor Tactics Research Corps, Durandal," said Zead carefully. "A multinational Earth Alliance research group whose purpose is to test new mobile suits concepts and tactics. I assure you, save for an unfortunate coincidence in naming, we have no connection to the leader of our spaceborne adversaries. Elsa, lower your weapons."

"Alright, can it," snapped McGlynn. "Out there is somebody with a long range beam cannon who's sniping our mobile suits as they descend. Are we going to take him down or stand around here bickering? Colonel, what's the status of your forces?"

"This, I'm afraid, is all that's left of my team," sad Eglar quietly. "We were dispersed during the drop, and Beck was unable to raise them. Hopefully, once we've stabilized the situation, we can send out search parties."

The Phantom Pain pilots were silent at that, and McGlynn nodded grimly. "I'm sorry to hear that. My team is at full strength. We've got four mobile suits, one of which is equipped with a Launcher Striker Pack," pointing meaningfully at Epcar's Dagger L, "The rest of us are using standard equipment. Nothing like the special equipment you use in Durandal." _Like what that Dagger L is doing, dual-wielding a shotgun and a beam rifle._

* * *

Saito had to admire whoever set up this plan. Someone had obviously realized that they were dealing with a skilled sniper, and that they were going to keep on losing mobile suits so long as he was active. But they'd also seen how he'd intercepted those kinetic strikes, and were now pumping a steady barrage of KIS penetrators down around him to keep him busy. 

The Kinetic Interdiction Strike was the Cosmic Era's version of throwing rocks. It was basically a heavy enough object that was launched from orbit right down at the earth. With the advances in satellite-based targeting systems, KIS rounds were touted as the long-awaited surgical strike weapons that militaries and politicians had longed for.

The problem was a kinetic interdiction strike was like doing surgery with a chainsaw. Even a crowbar dropped from orbit would make a decent sized crater, what more something larger and heavier.

Saito couldn't take that chance, the risk that the Earth Forces might decide to go all out and drop heavy KIS warheads on Orb, in retaliation for the destruction of Section Nine headquarters and the loss of priceless intelligence from that building. He'd seen how Murata Azrael had ordered the nuclear bombardment of Orb, and had no desire to see his adopted country devastated again.

For all that he was a Natural, a former Earth Forces soldier, a citizen of the Republic of East Asia, and a mercenary sniper, Saito possessed all of the dislike of nukes that was shared by many of his Section Nine colleagues… more so, since he had been born and raised in Japan, the first nation subjected to the horrors of nuclear weapons.

Kinetic strikes wouldn't have the radioactive fallout of a nuke… but they were no less deadly. And if a misaimed KI strike was to hit a civilian population centre... or _Archangel_…

It was with gritted teeth that Saito ignored the descending mobile suits and _Dominion _to concentrate on intercepting the inbound kinetic strikes, his rifle sending out darts of green death to meet the spears of white light.

* * *

The plan was actually working. It was surprisingly working. The KIS barrage was keeping the sniper from engaging _Dominion_ and the drop pods. The Phantom Pain Wild Dagger pilots were cooperating. The Durandal unit survivors were moving purposefully and skillfully, and her team was doing well. 

_Which means that this is going to blow in our faces spectacularly, _thought McGlynn grimly. _If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush_. Murphy's Laws of Combat were respected among infantry troops since time immemorial. In the buildup to Operation Meteor, they'd become widely disseminated among the pilots of the 1st Orbital: despite the fact that they were riding in massive 18-meter behemoths, Murphy's Laws of Combat were still relevant to many 1st Orbital pilots.

That was probably no surprise, as many of them had been infantrymen before switching to mobile suits.

_Still, at least that forward controller is doing a good job at keeping the arty off us and pointed at that sniper_.

Although his current assignment was with an RDT&E unit, Beck Catona had once been a Staff Sergeant in the Eurasian Federation Army, and he had been fully trained as an artillery observer. He'd kept current, and was now directing fire onto the sniper's suspected position.

Eglar and McGlynn's plan involved a 3-prong thrust onto the sniper. Her team would approach from one direction, while the Durandal unit would advance cautiously supporting them. Meanwhile, the Wild Daggers would advance separately and flank the sniper – since it _had_ to be a mobile suit with a sniper rifle; no beam cannon could fire that fast. Her team, Eglar, and his wingman Master Sergeant Elsa Ellaine would be the hammerblow down the center, attracting the attention of the sniper, while the Wild Daggers would be the pincer.

And Beck Catona's 105 Dagger would keep him fully occupied until they got within range. The twin 8-cell missile launchers were effective weapons in their own right, but right now, the backpack mounted on Beck's Dagger L was the true key to success. N-Jammers had posed a serious problem when they'd first been deployed; not only did they plunge the world into an energy crisis, but the N-jammers also jammed radio waves, making communications near-impossible. This was one of the factors that had contributed to ZAFT's advance in the First Bloody Valentine War; without the ability to make calls for fire, artillery observers were rendered impotent… and artillery ceased to be a weapon of any use on the battlefield. Gun commanders couldn't fire when they didn't know where to shoot.

"Rockstar, Rockstar, this is Delta-Five-Nine. Standing by," radioed Beck, beginning his call for fire.

"_Delta-Five-Niner, this is Rockstar,"_ responded the crewman in the Fire Direction Center of the orbiting _Nelson-_class battleship. _"Authenticate Victor Hotel."_

"Authentication, Echo, over."

"_Delta-Five-Niner__, welcome to the net, over."_

"Roger. Rockstar, this is Delta Five Nine. Request fire mission, over."

"_Go ahead, Delta Five Niner__."_

"Rockstar, Delta-Five-Nine. Target in the open, request fire mission at coordinates 332195, over."

"_Copy that, Delta-Five-Niner. Fire mission at three-three-two-one-niner-five. Wait one."_

The backpack mounted on Beck's 105 Dagger was the key to his call for fire. It was an encrypted frequency hopping radio, designed to use the quantum communication system reverse-engineered from Chaos to contact ships. Completely immune to the jamming effects of N-jammers, this prototype radio backpack allowed him to call in a KIS barrage from the orbiting battleships tasked with naval gunfire support duties. The main flaw with his system was that it sucked up power, which was why he wasn't carrying a beam rifle, armed only with chemical propellant missiles, a 52mm machine gun and his saber.

"_Delta-Five-Niner, Rockstar; Shot out! Ranging round incoming. Danger close, say again, danger close!"_

"Rockstar, this is Delta-Five-Nine. We are six hundred meters from impact area, over."

"_Roger, incoming five seconds, danger close, I say again, danger close. Hunker down and cover your ears, soldier-boy! Splash in five seconds!"_

Up in the sky, a speck appears, growing in size, a spear of white light falling down at unbelievable speed, a solid kinetic impact round streaking towards land... intercepted by an angry green dart.

But that shot has exposed Saito's position.

"_Delta-Five-Niner," _asks the FDC technician, _"Did you observe the fall of the shot?"_

"Rockstar, roger," replied Beck, shocked at Saito's interception. "Down four five meters and fire for effect!"

"_Delta-Five-Niner, confirm four five meters and fire for effect."_

And following in the footsteps of her famous World War 2 namesake, the battleship _Missouri_ commences her naval gunfire mission.

* * *

_Alright, this is bad._

Saito couldn't remember ever feeling this pressured before, except perhaps during his sniper duel with Ken atop a ruined hospital. The opening salvo that he'd intercepted had been almost perfunctory, just something to be done as a matter of course while _Dominion_ began her descent. The KIS barrage coming down on him now was a whole different matter, in terms of scope and intensity; it was taking all his skill and reflexes to keep on intercepting the incoming rounds: this wasn't the first time artillery had been used to flush him out, but this was the first time he was intercepting a fire mission instead of just evading it, and it was taxing his skills and calm. He'd barely had enough time to fire a trio of hasty shots at _Dominion_ before the Kinetic Interdiction Strikes seized his attention.

He was in the zone now, firing as fast as his rifle would let him, taking down KI strikes like clockwork; totally focused on the task at hand, sparing no time to curse as _Dominion_ and over two dozen mobile suits slipped through and began their descent, intent on intercepting the incoming hail of white spears…

Then the barrage suddenly stopped, and Saito had almost no time to react as McGlynn's team appeared, Epcar making his presence known by firing his Agni; the agile Fianna Sniper threw itself to the side, narrowly missing the blast, laser CIWS firing at the hyper impulse cannon; Epcar cursed and tried to toss the Agni away; he managed to loft it just as it blew up, the shockwave knocking his mobile suit flat on its back, heat warping the frame, the left arm totally melted off.

Then Elsa's Dagger L was in the fray, the Durandal machine moving faster and smoother than a normal Dagger L, her machine tuned specifically to fit its pilot, her beam rifle and shotgun both firing alternately at her target. Saito evaded her beam and took the shotgun blast on his left arm, protecting his rifle; expecting the Variable Phase Shift to hold. It did, but he was still taken aback to find that the shotgun fired not buckshot or shrapnel, but a spread of self-forging fragment submunitions, hammering noisily against his Fianna. Eye narrowed, Saito disengaged his link to the power/recon satellites and deactivated his Hawkeye; at this range, it was a liability. He jumped back, ready to bring his rifle up and fire…

And that was when the two Wild Daggers burst onto the scene, transformed into quadruped mode, their 43mm gatlings blazing away. The 43mm gatling cannon mounted on the back of each Wild Dagger was based off the late 20th century GAU-8 Avenger cannon, a 30mm gatling used on the A-10A Thunderbolt II (nicknamed the "Warthog") that fired depleted uranium rounds weighing 2 pounds, a massive cannon capable of destroying tanks. The 43mm gatling was a development of that cannon, a more advanced weapon firing larger and heavier projectiles. The VPS held against the physical attack, but the Fianna staggered from the impacts of the dense and heavy shells; Phase Shift was immune to projectile attacks, but that didn't mean it was immune to the laws of physics.

By some strange bit of luck, however – _I wonder how much I could get Jack to bet on this with me _– both Wild Daggers were firing from opposite sides. Which meant that the only thing between them was the Fianna Sniper.

_What are the odds that both of them are on opposite sides of me, hammering away with DU shells that are keeping me upright, and in the perfect position to take each other out?_

All this took no more than a second – he might be a mere Natural, but Saito was quick and adaptable – and he fed power to his thrusters and leaped back. The Wild Daggers were quick to react, leaping into the air after him, narrowly missing each other as their shells intersected. They were good. They knew their machines. Wild Daggers might not be BuCUEs, but they were a lot better than space models at fighting in gravity.

But the variable fighter that Saito flew was a better machine.

He toggled the controls and the mobile suit shifted into its intermediate form, a fusion of the fighter-like mobile armor and mobile suit modes. Using Aile packs, Strike and Raptor had easily outmaneuvered Andy Waltfeld's BuCUEs in the Libyan desert; the intermediate form of the Fianna was even more maneuverable than an Aile pack, and Saito effortlessly dodged to the side and back, increasing altitude and firing at the Wild Daggers. His rifle spat green death at his foes; it wasn't the easiest shot or the best setup, firing while moving, without using his Hawkeye…

But then, Saito didn't _need_ a Hawkeye. And unlike his current opponents, he was used to hitting small targets with precise accuracy.

The Durandal, Phantom Pain and 1st Orbital pilots weren't slouches. Saito's first shot drove through the Wild Dagger's battery, detonating the mobile suit spectacularly; intent on avenging his death, the second Wild Dagger pilot flushed his back-mounted missile pods, emptying them in one fell swoop, before leaping up into the air and transforming, snatching up its beam rifle and aiming at Saito. He jumped into the path of a beam from Saito; a beam which cut trough the head and the back; unable to see, the Wild Dagger fell to the ground, backing away cautiously. Saito's next shot lanced out toward McGlynn: unable to evade, the Major raised her polygonal forearm shield to protect herself.

Unlike the Navy or normal ground forces, the 1st Orbital drop troopers mounted smaller shields on their mobile suits, the shield covered just the forearm, leaving the left hand free: space inside drop pods were limited, and as fast strike forces, the EA drop forces took an entirely different approach from their ZAFT counterparts: ZAFT drop forces were essentially standard mobile suits deployed as is, typically as reinforcements or as a massive hammer blow; the 1st Orbital were intended to kick the door open and secure an airhead through blitzkrieg tactics, relying on speed and maneuver for protection. The only concessions made towards protection were thicker anti-beam coatings on their shields; despite being smaller, a typical "drop shield" had more anti-beam coating per square foot than a full-sized normal shield. It covered less, but it could take more punishment than an ordinary shield.

The Caladbolg beam smartrifle was a lot more powerful than a normal rifle. It had to be, in order to fire a beam that traveled thirty kilometers and still had enough power to destroy its target, no mean feat. It was a purpose-built weapon, crafted to take advantage of Saito's skills, superior to the Type-71-44 beam sniper rifles modified from standard Astray rifles. Plus, it was directly powered by the nuclear reactor in the Fianna Sniper… and this beam traveled only 400 meters instead of 30 kilometers.

The result was that the beam plowed into McGlynn's shield, burning out impotently against the anti-beam gel coating… but not before making an impressive furrow in the shield, an ugly black mark where heat had scorched the shield.

Saito continued moving backwards, firing his beam smartrifle, and if the Earth Forces pilots were disconcerted by how fast it fired, they didn't show it. Elsa might have been young and inexperienced, but she'd been trained by Zead Eglar, a veteran of the last war, and she had skill and talent in spades, keeping the pressure on Saito by alternating between her beam rifle and self-forging fragment shotgun. Saito classed her shotgun as the more serious threat: beamfire he could evade, and the VPS could absorb it in limited quantities, but he didn't care to think of what would happen if a stray armor-piercing SFF submunition went into his turbines.

The next few minutes were ones of frentic dodging on both sides, as Eglar fired his railgun and missiles in the manner of an experienced support gunner, Elsa continued moving in close to employ both her weapons, and McGlynn's team spread out. Whatever Saito would have done was interrupted by a message scrolling across his screen: **OMEGA OMEGA OMEGA.**

"That settles it," he said decisively. "No more playing around. And I know just the place." His lips curved, recalling Ken's words to him 2 years ago: "_Lesson Thirty-eight: Only seldom is true surprise achieved in battle; usually, it is simply that the commander misinterprets what he's seen all along…"_

* * *

Unlike Unato Ema Seiran, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn was expecting a cornered fox, not a jackal, which was why she led a cautious pursuit of the Section Nine mobile suit – it _had_ to be Section Nine, since it was a design she hadn't seen before – towards the cliff edge. The sniper was running, that much was certain, but something bugged her about what he was doing… 

She called up a map display and frowned. It made no sense. Why was he leading them to a cliff overlooking the sea? Something just wasn't right… he had Phase-Shift Armor, he could fly, he had a beam sniper rifle that was like no other rifle she'd ever seen… what was going on?

"I zee 'im!" called Elsa eagerly, the Frenchwoman's Dagger L seemingly twitching with excitement. "'e's lost 'es PSA!" Indeed, the Fianna was now kneeling at the edge of the cliff, camoflage faded to gunmetal gray, rifle pointed to the ground, yet still grasped in the mobile suit's hands.

_If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush._

Still… that rifle would have sucked up a lot of power, as would the Phase Shift Armor…

There was a time for carefulness and subtlety, and there was a time for a fast strike. And the drop troopers were supposed to be the Earth Forces blitzkrieg units deployed in _coup de main _assaults anyway. And while she was good at cunning, subtle maneuvers and sneaking about, at the heart of it, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn had a strong inclination towards direct action.

"Should we try and capture it, Major?"

"Do you _really_ want to try it, Ishikawa?"

"No, ma'am. _Somebody_ had to suggest it," shrugged Ishikawa. "It'll be a loss, but something tells me that that pilot would rather hit his self-destruct than let us take him in alive."

"Yeah. Alright! Colonel Eglar, on my mark, we'll hammer that mobile suit with everything we have! Can you provide fire support?"

"Elementry, Major," replied Zead, getting into position, Beck flanking him. "Just tell us when you want to attack."

"Fire when ready," ordered McGlynn, her Windam already running towards the gunmetal gray mobile suit, as salvos of missiles streaked towards it, her team flanking her, Elsa in her tuned Dagger L coming along…

That was when the Fianna pointed its smartrifle at Elsa and snapped off a shot. It made sense, as the Durandal Dagger L was the only unit not equipped with a shield.

It was debatable as to who was more surprised, McGlynn, or the sniper, when Elsa threw her Dagger L to the side, the mobile suit sidestepping the beam smoothly, as if it were a Windam and not a Dagger variant – which, to an extent, it was, being the testbed unit for the prototype Windam. The sniper mobile suit raised its rifle for one more shot…

And that was when the missiles, railgun rounds, beam shots and self-forging fragments slammed into it: multiple detonations were heard as the machine staggered back, obscured by a cloud of thick smoke. Moments later, the smoke cleared, revealing nothing at all. No trace of the mobile suit, no scattered parts, no broken and burnt debris. McGlynn approached the cliff edge, Elsa by her side, and both women peered over the edge, staring at the churning water below.

"Ishikawa. Connect to the satellite and check the thermal imagers. See if you can pick up anything."

"Visual sat records the target falling into the water, Major," reported Ishikawa crisply. "Thermal imagers are inoperative due to an explosion at Objective Alpha."

"Nothing could have survived zat," said Elsa, and McGlynn found herself agreeing with the young Frenchwoman. Nothing could have survived that barrage without Phase Shift…

…or could it…?

* * *

Underwater, a smooth shape moved through the sea. It was a mobile armor in the shape of an atmospheric fighter, with vertical stabilizers canted outwards, propelling itself through the water, VPS now set in a predominantly blue water camouflage pattern first used in the old Soviet Union. 

Inside his cockpit, making his way towards the _Odin_, Saito leaned back and, for the first time since his fateful transmission, relaxed fractionally, a slow smile appearing on his face as he recalled one of Ken's sayings: _"Lesson Twenty-one: If you cannot win by numbers, remember: even the smallest of creatures can nibble the largest to death."_

Against all odds, Saito had blunted the force of the Earth Alliance storm. His efforts had not been enough to stop Operation Meteor… but he had destroyed almost two-thirds of the Earth Forces' mobile suit strength while neutralizing their kinetic strikes. It was a feat of unprecedented shooting, in one of the biggest upsets of the 2nd Bloody Valentine War, and he'd pulled it off. He hadn't expected to be facing down an invasion of mobile suits, just local Orb units, and he hadn't even anticipated using his weapon. But he'd known his duty, and stuck to it, facing over five dozen mobile suits and countless Kinetic Interdiction Strikes… and had come out with the advantage.

It was thoroughly ironic. Saito was a foreigner, who owed no allegiance to Orb. He was a mercenary, a man loyal only to his paycheck. Through and through, he was the kind of person who would be viewed suspiciously by the Seirans, for a man who'd turned his coat against his former employers could do so again.

And that mercenary stood his ground and fought for the defense of the island nation that had become his home, for the colleagues he'd worked with and known, and for the commander who held his loyalty and respect. He had danced with death, and he had led the dance.

"_Welcome back, Saito,"_ said Tom Delaney's voice, as the Fianna Sniper came closer to the Odin's hangar access. _"We're glad to see you here in one piece."_

"Thanks, Tom. It's… good to be home..."

_Dividual 2 END_

_**FINALE**_

* * *

**Final Notes:** And thus is _Behind the Left Eye_ completed. While Operation Meteor still goes on, and though they've suffered a terrible price in winning the 1st phase of their engagement, Section Nine has a fighting chance, all due to a sniper and his left eye... 

I would like to extend a warm motion of thanks to Solid Shark and Ominae, for allowing me this chance to play in their universes: it's been good fun, guys. And to think that it all started with me going, _"Hey, Solid, are any Ghost in the Shell characters – specifically Batou and Saito – going to make an appearance?"_

Observant readers will note several cameos by certain people, and certain units... including a cameo by the talented Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. She sings, she acts, she voices charecters, she directs English dubs of anime and games. Mobile suit piloting was the next step. XD

The **1st Orbital Drop Division** does not exist in canon, and is my creation: my reasoning is that after all the trouble ZAFT's drop forces have given the Eeath Forces, it wouldn't make sense for them to ignore drop operations. The 1st Orbital suits mentioned above are but a fraction of the Division's total firepower: at full combat strength, the division has 864 mobile suits arranged into four Regiments of 216 mobile suits each, each regiment having two Battalions made up of three Companies. 1st Orbital unit colors are generally similar to standard Earth Forces colors, but in a darker shade, with a thick maroon stripe painted on the left shoulder. Each Regiment is denoted by card suits (pades, Clubs, Hearts or Diamonds on the maroon stripe, and 1st Orbital drop troopers wear maroon berets instead of standard Earth Forces headgear.

While typing this fic, there were a number of songs that were in my playlist. First is _From the Roof Top Somewhere in the Silence (Sniper's Theme),_ track 8 of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society OST. This song plays prominently in Episode 14 of 2nd Gig, and is very much Saito's theme song. Second is a remix of the MGS, MGS2 and MGS3 themes, entitled _"Legend of the Snake 2: Snake vs Dragon"_. In the words of the remixer, Reuben Kee: _"My inspiration for this one is once again, fighting. A heroic build up, the pre battle-meditation, remembering why he fights, and then the fight, a setback, gathering the strength to stand up again, and then finally the victory."_ This song was on repeat for much of this fic as I was typing it, and can be found at the OC Remix website.

_Beware the Left Eye_ is now finished, but that does not mean that Saito's story is over just yet. I have another project regarding Saito and Section Nine, and while work will be slow due to increased focus on my college studies, it will be steady. Until next time, comrades!

Solid, Dragoon: This one's for you guys. Semper Fi.


End file.
